Stale data detection

ABSTRACT

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for detecting stale data and/or changed data. For example, a bitmap file may be maintained and mapped to an inofile describing various states of files of a file system. The bitmap file may be populated with bitmap records indicating whether files were accessed, modified, or have other states. The bitmap file may efficiently convey information used to determine whether files have not been accessed recently (e.g., stale data) or were recently modified (e.g., changed data) compared to the inofile because the bitmap file may comprise a fraction of the size of the inofile (e.g., a byte of information may be used to represent various states of one or more files). In this way, instead of evaluating a relatively larger inofile, the bitmap file may be evaluated to efficiently identify stale data for deletion or destaging and/or changed data for backup.

BACKGROUND

A file system of a computing device or storage environment may comprisean ever growing amount of user data. For example, a storage networkenvironment may provide thousands of clients with access to millions offiles stored across various storage devices, which may be replicated toother storage devices. Data storage costs and performance may decreaseas the number and size of information is managed. In an example, ametadata file, such as an inofile, may be used to track informationrelating to files of a file system. The inofile may be a continue filecomprising inofile records for each file. An inofile record may specifya file size, a device ID, a user ID, a group ID, a file mode, a lastaccess time, a last modification time, pointers, and/or a variety ofother information about a file.

An application, service, and/or storage administrator may desire toidentify stale data that has not been accessed for a threshold amount oftime such as for removal or destaging of stale data to slower andcheaper storage (e.g., a home directory of an ex-employee, a file notaccessed for a predefined amount of days, an unmapped logical unitnumber (LUN), etc.) and/or to identify recently changed data such as fordata backup purposes. Accordingly, the inofile may be completely walkedto identify when files were last accessed or modified. Unfortunately,walking the complete inofile may be time consuming and resourceintensive because the inofile may be relatively large (e.g., an inofilemay consume 18 gigabytes of metadata for a volume with 100 mio modes).

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a component block diagram illustrating an example clusterednetwork in accordance with one or more of the provisions set forthherein.

FIG. 2 is a component block diagram illustrating an example data storagesystem in accordance with one or more of the provisions set forthherein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of detectingstale data.

FIG. 4 is a component block diagram illustrating an exemplary computingdevice for maintaining a bitmap file.

FIG. 5 is a component block diagram illustrating an exemplary computingdevice for maintaining a set of bitmap files.

FIG. 6 is a component block diagram illustrating an exemplary computingdevice for identify stale data and/or changed data.

FIG. 7 is an example of a computer readable medium in accordance withone or more of the provisions set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some examples of the claimed subject matter are now described withreference to the drawings, where like reference numerals are generallyused to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description,for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide an understanding of the claimed subject matter. It maybe evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practicedwithout these specific details. Nothing in this detailed description isadmitted as prior art.

One or more techniques and/or computing devices for detecting stale dataand/or changed data are provided. For example, a bitmap file may becreated and maintained for storing access and/or modificationinformation of files in an efficient manner (e.g., a single byte may beused to represent various states of one or more files, such as 4 bitsused to represent state information of a first file and 4 bits used torepresent state information of a second file). The bitmap file maycomprise bitmap records that match to metadata records of a metadatafile, such as inofile records of an inofile for a file system (e.g., abitmap record may map to a last access time property and/or a lastmodified time priority within an inofile record). Because the bitmapfile may efficiently store access information of files compared to themetadata file (e.g., the inofile may comprise 18 gigabytes or any othersize of file metadata, whereas the bitmap file may merely comprise 45megabytes or any other size of file metadata for the same number offiles), stale data and/or changed data may be quickly identified bywalking the bitmap file (e.g., and/or other bitmap files correspondingto various points in time of the file system) instead of walking theentire inofile, which may necessitate complex decisions becausetimestamps may be recorded and compared as opposed to merely evaluatinga simple “yes/no” flag within the bitmap file. Quickly identifying staledata and/or changed data may conserve computing resources and/or timeotherwise used by backup services, data consolidation services, staledata removal services, data destaging services, and/or other datamanagement services.

To provide context for detecting stale data, FIG. 1 illustrates anembodiment of a clustered network environment 100 or a network storageenvironment. It may be appreciated, however, that the techniques, etc.described herein may be implemented within the clustered networkenvironment 100, a non-cluster network environment, and/or a variety ofother computing environments, such as a desktop computing environment.That is, the instant disclosure, including the scope of the appendedclaims, is not meant to be limited to the examples provided herein. Itwill be appreciated that where the same or similar components, elements,features, items, modules, etc. are illustrated in later figures but werepreviously discussed with regard to prior figures, that a similar (e.g.,redundant) discussion of the same may be omitted when describing thesubsequent figures (e.g., for purposes of simplicity and ease ofunderstanding).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example clustered networkenvironment 100 that may implement at least some embodiments of thetechniques and/or systems described herein. The example environment 100comprises data storage systems or storage sites 102 and 104 that arecoupled over a cluster fabric 106, such as a computing network embodiedas a private Infiniband, Fibre Channel (FC), or Ethernet networkfacilitating communication between the storage systems 102 and 104 (andone or more modules, component, etc. therein, such as, nodes 116 and118, for example). It will be appreciated that while two data storagesystems 102 and 104 and two nodes 116 and 118 are illustrated in FIG. 1,that any suitable number of such components is contemplated. In anexample, nodes 116, 118 comprise storage controllers (e.g., node 116 maycomprise a primary or local storage controller and node 118 may comprisea secondary or remote storage controller) that provide client devices,such as host devices 108, 110, with access to data stored within datastorage devices 128, 130. Similarly, unless specifically providedotherwise herein, the same is true for other modules, elements,features, items, etc. referenced herein and/or illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. That is, a particular number of components,modules, elements, features, items, etc. disclosed herein is not meantto be interpreted in a limiting manner.

It will be further appreciated that clustered networks are not limitedto any particular geographic areas and can be clustered locally and/orremotely. Thus, in one embodiment a clustered network can be distributedover a plurality of storage systems and/or nodes located in a pluralityof geographic locations; while in another embodiment a clustered networkcan include data storage systems (e.g., 102, 104) residing in a samegeographic location (e.g., in a single onsite rack of data storagedevices).

In the illustrated example, one or more host devices 108, 110 which maycomprise, for example, client devices, personal computers (PCs),computing devices used for storage (e.g., storage servers), and othercomputers or peripheral devices (e.g., printers), are coupled to therespective data storage systems 102, 104 by storage network connections112, 114. Network connection may comprise a local area network (LAN) orwide area network (WAN), for example, that utilizes Storage Area Network(SAN) protocols (e.g., Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI)and/or Fiber Channel Protocol (FCP) may be used to access a LUN) and/orNetwork Attached Storage (NAS) protocols, such as a Common Internet FileSystem (CIFS) protocol or a Network File System (NFS) protocol toexchange data packets. Illustratively, the host devices 108, 110 may begeneral-purpose computers running applications, and may interact withthe data storage systems 102, 104 using a client/server model forexchange of information. That is, the host device may request data fromthe data storage system (e.g., data on a storage device managed by anetwork storage control configured to process I/O commands issued by thehost device for the storage device), and the data storage system mayreturn results of the request to the host device via one or more networkconnections 112, 114.

The nodes 116, 118 on clustered data storage systems 102, 104 cancomprise network or host nodes that are interconnected as a cluster toprovide data storage and management services, such as to an enterprisehaving remote locations, cloud storage (e.g., a storage endpoint may bestored within a data cloud), etc., for example. Such a node in a datastorage and management network cluster environment 100 can be a deviceattached to the network as a connection point, redistribution point orcommunication endpoint, for example. A node may be capable of sending,receiving, and/or forwarding information over a network communicationschannel, and could comprise any device that meets any or all of thesecriteria. One example of a node may be a data storage and managementserver attached to a network, where the server can comprise a generalpurpose computer or a computing device particularly configured tooperate as a server in a data storage and management system.

In an example, a first cluster of nodes such as the nodes 116, 118(e.g., a first set of storage controllers configured to provide accessto a first storage aggregate comprising a first logical grouping of oneor more storage devices) may be located on a first storage site. Asecond cluster of nodes, not illustrated, may be located at a secondstorage site (e.g., a second set of storage controllers configured toprovide access to a second storage aggregate comprising a second logicalgrouping of one or more storage devices). The first cluster of nodes andthe second cluster of nodes may be configured according to a disasterrecovery configuration where a surviving cluster of nodes providesswitchover access to storage devices of a disaster cluster of nodes inthe event a disaster occurs at a disaster storage site comprising thedisaster cluster of nodes (e.g., the first cluster of nodes providesclient devices with switchover data access to storage devices of thesecond storage aggregate in the event a disaster occurs at the secondstorage site).

As illustrated in the exemplary environment 100, nodes 116, 118 cancomprise various functional components that coordinate to providedistributed storage architecture for the cluster. For example, the nodescan comprise a network module 120, 122 and a data module 124, 126.Network modules 120, 122 can be configured to allow the nodes 116, 118(e.g., network storage controllers) to connect with host devices 108,110 over the network connections 112, 114, for example, allowing thehost devices 108, 110 to access data stored in the distributed storagesystem. Further, the network modules 120, 122 can provide connectionswith one or more other components through the cluster fabric 106. Forexample, in FIG. 1, a first network module 120 of first node 116 canaccess a second data storage device 130 by sending a request through asecond data module 126 of a second node 118.

Data modules 124, 126 can be configured to connect one or more datastorage devices 128, 130, such as disks or arrays of disks, flashmemory, or some other form of data storage, to the nodes 116, 118. Thenodes 116, 118 can be interconnected by the cluster fabric 106, forexample, allowing respective nodes in the cluster to access data on datastorage devices 128, 130 connected to different nodes in the cluster.Often, data modules 124, 126 communicate with the data storage devices128, 130 according to a storage area network (SAN) protocol, such asSmall Computer System Interface (SCSI), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), orFiber Channel Protocol (FCP), for example. Thus, as seen from anoperating system on a node 116, 118, the data storage devices 128, 130can appear as locally attached to the operating system. In this manner,different nodes 116, 118, etc. may access data blocks through theoperating system, rather than expressly requesting abstract files.

It should be appreciated that, while the example embodiment 100illustrates an equal number of network and data modules, otherembodiments may comprise a differing number of these modules. Forexample, there may be a plurality of network and data modulesinterconnected in a cluster that does not have a one-to-onecorrespondence between the network and data modules. That is, differentnodes can have a different number of network and data modules, and thesame node can have a different number of network modules than datamodules.

Further, a host device 108, 110 can be networked with the nodes 116, 118in the cluster, over the networking connections 112, 114. As an example,respective host devices 108, 110 that are networked to a cluster mayrequest services (e.g., exchanging of information in the form of datapackets) of a node 116, 118 in the cluster, and the node 116, 118 canreturn results of the requested services to the host devices 108, 110.In one embodiment, the host devices 108, 110 can exchange informationwith the network modules 120, 122 residing in the nodes (e.g., networkhosts) 116, 118 in the data storage systems 102, 104.

In one embodiment, the data storage devices 128, 130 comprise volumes132, which is an implementation of storage of information onto diskdrives or disk arrays or other storage (e.g., flash) as a file-systemfor data, for example. Volumes can span a portion of a disk, acollection of disks, or portions of disks, for example, and typicallydefine an overall logical arrangement of file storage on disk space inthe storage system. In one embodiment a volume can comprise stored dataas one or more files that reside in a hierarchical directory structurewithin the volume.

Volumes are typically configured in formats that may be associated withparticular storage systems, and respective volume formats typicallycomprise features that provide functionality to the volumes, such asproviding an ability for volumes to form clusters. For example, where afirst storage system may utilize a first format for their volumes, asecond storage system may utilize a second format for their volumes.

In the example environment 100, the host devices 108, 110 can utilizethe data storage systems 102, 104 to store and retrieve data from thevolumes 132. In this embodiment, for example, the host device 108 cansend data packets to the network module 120 in the node 116 within datastorage system 102. The node 116 can forward the data to the datastorage device 128 using the data module 124, where the data storagedevice 128 comprises volume 132A. In this way, in this example, the hostdevice can access the storage volume 132A, to store and/or retrievedata, using the data storage system 102 connected by the networkconnection 112. Further, in this embodiment, the host device 110 canexchange data with the network module 122 in the host 118 within thedata storage system 104 (e.g., which may be remote from the data storagesystem 102). The host 118 can forward the data to the data storagedevice 130 using the data module 126, thereby accessing volume 132Bassociated with the data storage device 130.

It may be appreciated that detecting stale data may be implementedwithin the clustered network environment 100 or any other computingenvironment (e.g., a personal computer, a laptop, a mobile device, asmart device, a server, a videogame console, etc.). For example, a dataevaluation component may be implemented for the node 116 and/or the node118. The data evaluation component may be configured to maintain one ormore bitmap files mapped to metadata files, such as inofiles, of filesystems hosted by the node 116 and/or the node 118. The data evaluationcomponent may evaluate the one or more bitmap files to identify staledata that has not been accessed for a threshold amount of time and/or toidentify changed data. It may be appreciated that detecting stale datamay be implemented for and/or between any type of computing environment,and may be transferrable between physical devices (e.g., node 116, node118, etc.) and/or a cloud computing environment (e.g., remote to theclustered network environment 100).

FIG. 2 is an illustrative example of a data storage system 200 (e.g.,102, 104 in FIG. 1), providing further detail of an embodiment ofcomponents that may implement one or more of the techniques and/orsystems described herein. The example data storage system 200 comprisesa node 202 (e.g., host nodes 116, 118 in FIG. 1), and a data storagedevice 234 (e.g., data storage devices 128, 130 in FIG. 1). The node 202may be a general purpose computer, for example, or some other computingdevice particularly configured to operate as a storage server. A hostdevice 205 (e.g., 108, 110 in FIG. 1) can be connected to the node 202over a network 216, for example, to provides access to files and/orother data stored on the data storage device 234. In an example, thenode 202 comprises a storage controller that provides client devices,such as the host device 205, with access to data stored within datastorage device 234.

The data storage device 234 can comprise mass storage devices, such asdisks 224, 226, 228 of a disk array 218, 220, 222. It will beappreciated that the techniques and systems, described herein, are notlimited by the example embodiment. For example, disks 224, 226, 228 maycomprise any type of mass storage devices, including but not limited tomagnetic disk drives, flash memory, and any other similar media adaptedto store information, including, for example, data (D) and/or parity (P)information.

The node 202 comprises one or more processors 204, a memory 206, anetwork adapter 210, a cluster access adapter 212, and a storage adapter214 interconnected by a system bus 242. The storage system 200 alsoincludes an operating system 208 installed in the memory 206 of the node202 that can, for example, implement a Redundant Array of Independent(or Inexpensive) Disks (RAID) optimization technique to optimize areconstruction process of data of a failed disk in an array.

The operating system 208 can also manage communications for the datastorage system, and communications between other data storage systemsthat may be in a clustered network, such as attached to a cluster fabric215 (e.g., 106 in FIG. 1). Thus, the node 202, such as a network storagecontroller, can respond to host device requests to manage data on thedata storage device 234 (e.g., or additional clustered devices) inaccordance with these host device requests. The operating system 208 canoften establish one or more file systems on the data storage system 200,where a file system can include software code and data structures thatimplement a persistent hierarchical namespace of files and directories,for example. As an example, when a new data storage device (not shown)is added to a clustered network system, the operating system 208 isinformed where, in an existing directory tree, new files associated withthe new data storage device are to be stored. This is often referred toas “mounting” a file system.

In the example data storage system 200, memory 206 can include storagelocations that are addressable by the processors 204 and adapters 210,212, 214 for storing related software application code and datastructures. The processors 204 and adapters 210, 212, 214 may, forexample, include processing elements and/or logic circuitry configuredto execute the software code and manipulate the data structures. Theoperating system 208, portions of which are typically resident in thememory 206 and executed by the processing elements, functionallyorganizes the storage system by, among other things, invoking storageoperations in support of a file service implemented by the storagesystem. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that otherprocessing and memory mechanisms, including various computer readablemedia, may be used for storing and/or executing application instructionspertaining to the techniques described herein. For example, theoperating system can also utilize one or more control files (not shown)to aid in the provisioning of virtual machines.

The network adapter 210 includes the mechanical, electrical andsignaling circuitry needed to connect the data storage system 200 to ahost device 205 over a computer network 216, which may comprise, amongother things, a point-to-point connection or a shared medium, such as alocal area network. The host device 205 (e.g., 108, 110 of FIG. 1) maybe a general-purpose computer configured to execute applications. Asdescribed above, the host device 205 may interact with the data storagesystem 200 in accordance with a client/host model of informationdelivery.

The storage adapter 214 cooperates with the operating system 208executing on the node 202 to access information requested by the hostdevice 205 (e.g., access data on a storage device managed by a networkstorage controller). The information may be stored on any type ofattached array of writeable media such as magnetic disk drives, flashmemory, and/or any other similar media adapted to store information. Inthe example data storage system 200, the information can be stored indata blocks on the disks 224, 226, 228. The storage adapter 214 caninclude input/output (I/O) interface circuitry that couples to the disksover an I/O interconnect arrangement, such as a storage area network(SAN) protocol (e.g., Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), iSCSI,hyperSCSI, Fiber Channel Protocol (FCP)). The information is retrievedby the storage adapter 214 and, if necessary, processed by the one ormore processors 204 (or the storage adapter 214 itself) prior to beingforwarded over the system bus 242 to the network adapter 210 (and/or thecluster access adapter 212 if sending to another node in the cluster)where the information is formatted into a data packet and returned tothe host device 205 over the network connection 216 (and/or returned toanother node attached to the cluster over the cluster fabric 215).

In one embodiment, storage of information on arrays 218, 220, 222 can beimplemented as one or more storage “volumes” 230, 232 that are comprisedof a cluster of disks 224, 226, 228 defining an overall logicalarrangement of disk space. The disks 224, 226, 228 that comprise one ormore volumes are typically organized as one or more groups of RAIDs. Asan example, volume 230 comprises an aggregate of disk arrays 218 and220, which comprise the cluster of disks 224 and 226.

In one embodiment, to facilitate access to disks 224, 226, 228, theoperating system 208 may implement a file system (e.g., write anywherefile system) that logically organizes the information as a hierarchicalstructure of directories and files on the disks. In this embodiment,respective files may be implemented as a set of disk blocks configuredto store information, whereas directories may be implemented asspecially formatted files in which information about other files anddirectories are stored.

Whatever the underlying physical configuration within this data storagesystem 200, data can be stored as files within physical and/or virtualvolumes, which can be associated with respective volume identifiers,such as file system identifiers (FSIDs), which can be 32-bits in lengthin one example.

A physical volume corresponds to at least a portion of physical storagedevices whose address, addressable space, location, etc. doesn't change,such as at least some of one or more data storage devices 234 (e.g., aRedundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks (RAID system)).Typically the location of the physical volume doesn't change in that the(range of) address(es) used to access it generally remains constant.

A virtual volume, in contrast, is stored over an aggregate of disparateportions of different physical storage devices. The virtual volume maybe a collection of different available portions of different physicalstorage device locations, such as some available space from each of thedisks 224, 226, and/or 228. It will be appreciated that since a virtualvolume is not “tied” to any one particular storage device, a virtualvolume can be said to include a layer of abstraction or virtualization,which allows it to be resized and/or flexible in some regards.

Further, a virtual volume can include one or more logical unit numbers(LUNs) 238, directories 236, Qtrees 235, and files 240. Among otherthings, these features, but more particularly LUNS, allow the disparatememory locations within which data is stored to be identified, forexample, and grouped as data storage unit. As such, the LUNs 238 may becharacterized as constituting a virtual disk or drive upon which datawithin the virtual volume is stored within the aggregate. For example,LUNs are often referred to as virtual drives, such that they emulate ahard drive from a general purpose computer, while they actually comprisedata blocks stored in various parts of a volume.

In one embodiment, one or more data storage devices 234 can have one ormore physical ports, wherein each physical port can be assigned a targetaddress (e.g., SCSI target address). To represent respective volumesstored on a data storage device, a target address on the data storagedevice can be used to identify one or more LUNs 238. Thus, for example,when the node 202 connects to a volume 230, 232 through the storageadapter 214, a connection between the node 202 and the one or more LUNs238 underlying the volume is created.

In one embodiment, respective target addresses can identify multipleLUNs, such that a target address can represent multiple volumes. The I/Ointerface, which can be implemented as circuitry and/or software in thestorage adapter 214 or as executable code residing in memory 206 andexecuted by the processors 204, for example, can connect to volume 230by using one or more addresses that identify the LUNs 238.

It may be appreciated that detecting stale data may be implemented forthe data storage system 200 or any other computing environment (e.g., apersonal computer, a laptop, a mobile device, a smart device, a server,a videogame console, etc.). For example, a data evaluation component maybe implemented for the node 202. The data evaluation component may beconfigured to maintain one or more bitmap files mapped to metadatafiles, such as inofiles of file systems hosted by the node 202. The dataevaluation component may evaluate the one or more bitmap files toidentify stale data that has not been accessed for a threshold amount oftime and/or to identify changed data. It may be appreciated thatdetecting stale data may be implemented for and/or between any type ofcomputing environment, and may be transferrable between physical devices(e.g., node 202, host 205, etc.) and/or a cloud computing environment(e.g., remote to the node 202 and/or the host 205).

One embodiment of detecting stale data is illustrated by an exemplarymethod 300 of FIG. 3. A file system may comprise numerous files, such asuser data. For example, the file system may be hosted across one or morevolumes, logical unit numbers (LUNs), storage devices, etc. Metadata,describing the files (e.g., a file size, a device identifier, a linkcount, a last access time, a last modified time, a file mode, etc.), maybe stored within a metadata file such as an inofile or any othermetadata data structure or file. Because the inofile may comprise acontinuous file of metadata for a relatively large number of files, theinofile may be relatively large (e.g., the inofile may be 18 gigabytesfor a volume with 100 mio modes). The entire inofile may be walked toidentify files that have recently changed (e.g., recently modified fileswhose changes should be backed up) or not changed within a thresholdamount of time (e.g., stale files), which may consume a relatively largeamount of processing resources and time due to the size of the inofile.Accordingly, a first bitmap file, mapped to the inofile, may bemaintained for efficiently storing various states of a file such aswhether a file was accessed/modified, at 302.

It may be appreciated that bitmap files may be mapped to any metadata(e.g., inofiles, registry information, modes, file system metadata,database records, volume metadata, LUN metadata, etc.) that may providean indication as to when a file was last accessed, modified, and/orother various states of files.

At 304, the first bitmap file may be prepopulated with a first set ofbitmap records corresponding to files of the file system. For example, abitmap record of the first set of bitmap records may specify whether afile has been accessed, modified, or experienced a state change. Thebitmap record may be mapped to an inofile record, of the inofile, forthe file. In an example, the bitmap record may comprise a bitrepresenting a flag indicative of whether the file has been accessedand/or modified. In another example, the bitmap record may comprise abit representing a flag indicative of whether a file is present withinthe file system (e.g., the bit comprises a “1” value indicating that thefile (e.g., an entry) is used within the inofile and thus the fileshould be examined for stale data detection) or not (e.g. the bitcomprises a “0” value indicating that the file (e.g., the entry) is notused within the inofile and thus the file does not need to be examinedfor stale data detection). In another example, the first bitmap file maycomprise a byte representing states of two files, such as representing afirst state of a first file using a first bit (e.g., whether the firstfile has been accessed), a second state of the first file using a secondbit (e.g., whether the first file has been modified), a third state ofthe first file using a third bit (e.g., a state representing any otherinformation about the file such as whether the file is a new file, thefile is a backup file, the file violates a size recommendation, etc.), amode in use state of the first file using a fourth bit, a fourth stateof a second file using a fifth bit, a fifth state of the second fileusing a sixth bit, a sixth state of the second file using a seventh bit,and/or a second mode in use state for the second file using an eighthbit. Because merely a few bits are used to represent states of a file(e.g., which may be indicative of whether a file has been accessed,modified, etc.), the bitmap file is relatively small and efficient toevaluate for identifying changed files or stale files that have not beenaccessed within a threshold amount of time (e.g., the bitmap file maymerely comprise 45 megabytes or any other size instead of 18 gigabytesof the inofile for a particular number of files). For example, aninofile may use 192 bytes, whereas an entry within the bitmap file mayrepresent a presence of a file and 3 states of the file using merely 0.5bytes.

At 306, responsive to the inofile record indicating that the file wasaccessed, modified, or experienced a state change, the bitmap record maybe updated to indicate the file was accessed. For example, the bitmaprecord may be updated based upon a last accessed or modified propertywithin the inofile record for the file. In an example, the first set ofbitmap records of the first bitmap file may be populated based upon afirst snapshot of the file system corresponding to a first point in timeor may be populated in real-time during active operation of the filesystem.

At 308, the first bitmap file may be evaluated to determine whether thefile is a stale file based upon the bitmap record. It may be appreciatedthat in some examples multiples bitmap files, representing states offiles at various points in time, may be evaluated to determine whetherfiles are stale or have been recently modified, as will be discussedlater. The file may be determined as the stale file based upon the firstbitmap file indicating that the file has not been accessed for athreshold amount of time. Responsive to determining that the file is thestale file, the stale file may be deleted or may be destaged from acurrent storage device (e.g., a relatively faster and/or more expensiveprimary storage) to a secondary storage device (e.g., a relativelyslower and/or cheaper secondary storage), for example. In anotherexample, an alert or a list is created to notify a user about stalefiles so that the user may decide further actions. For example, a stateof a certain file may be ignored for stale data detection, such as byusing a bit of a bitmap record (e.g., the bit may indicating whether thefile is to be ignored or evaluated). In another example, a storagemanagement operation may be implemented for the stale file (e.g.,backup, replication, ownership change, size change, migration, a policychange, a storage operation change, etc.).

In an example, the first bitmap file may be evaluated to determinewhether a LUN is a stale LUN. For example, the LUN may be determined tobe the stale LUN based upon the LUN not being mapped or the LUN notbeing accessed for a threshold amount of times (e.g., a bit within abitmap file, which may be useful where LUNs are dynamically mapped andmounted; a scanner may evaluate LUN metadata that records LUN mappings;etc.). In another example, a home directory of a user may be determinedas being a stale home directory based upon an evaluation of the firstbitmap file (e.g., one or more bitmap files may indicate that files ofan employee have not been accessed for a threshold amount of time, whichmay be indicative of the employee being an ex-employee). In anotherexample, the first bitmap file may be evaluated to identify one or morechanged files of the file system. A backup operation may be invokedbased upon the one or more changed file, such that the backup operationefficiently backs up merely data of changed files that are quicklyidentified from the one or more bitmap files.

Stale files and/or changed files may be efficiently identified by merelyaccessing one or more bitmap files without accessing the inofile. Forexample, a bitmap file evaluation operation may be performed upon thefirst bitmap file to identify one or more stale files of the filesystem. The bitmap file evaluation operation may be configured toevaluate the first bitmap file but not the inofile. It may beappreciated that any number of bitmap files may be evaluated withoutaccessing inofiles. Responsive to identifying one or more stale orchanged files using the bitmap file evaluation operation, an inofileaccess operation may be performed to identify supplemental information(e.g., file size information, device ID information, etc.), from theinofile, used by a storage management operation or other service orapplication. In this way, the service may be invoked to execute upon thestale or changed files using the supplemental information.

In an example, multiple bitmap files may be maintained for the filesystem, where respective bitmap files may correspond to states of filesat various points in time. For example, the first bitmap file maycorrespond to states of files at a first point in time of a firstsnapshot of the file system (e.g., captured on Monday of week 1, andused as a baseline reference for populating a bitmap file), a secondbitmap file may correspond to states of files at a second point in timeof a second snapshot of the file system (e.g., captured on Monday ofweek 2), a third bitmap file may correspond to states of files at athird point in time of a third snapshot of the file system (e.g.,captured on Monday of week 3), a fourth bitmap file may correspond toreal-time current states of files during active operation of the filesystem, etc. The first bitmap file may be initialized based uponmetadata, such as the inofile (e.g., initialized to populate flag bitsrepresenting in use files that are present within the file system andmapped to modes). In an example, subsequent bitmap files may utilize aprevious bitmap as a basis, such as where state bits representing statesof files are cleared (e.g., set to 0) and flag bits representing in usefiles are retained, or where permanent bits are retained (e.g., flagbits and bits indicative of whether a file is to be evaluated or ignoredfor stale data detection) and other bits are cleared (e.g., reset to 0).

In an example of rotating bitmap files, once the first bitmap file isinitialized, the first bitmap file may be frozen at a first point intime (e.g., at a stopping point to update a file or as part of making asnapshot such that the first bitmap is locked, along with data, into thesnapshot, and a second bitmap file is created (e.g., “rotated to” foractively tracking the active file system)). In an example of rotatingbetween the first bitmap file and the second bitmap file, a copy of thefirst bitmap file is created as the second bitmap file. Tracking bitsare zeroed out (e.g., bits, used to track a state of a file, such asaccess, modification, and/or other states, are set to 0). Flag bits(e.g., bits used to indicate whether a file is in use) and/orconfigurable state bits (e.g., bits used to indicated whether a file isto be ignored for stale data detection, backup, triggering an alert,etc.) will be retained as opposed to being reset to 0. Once the secondbitmap file is created and initialized, the first bitmap file is frozen(e.g., updates to the first bitmap file are stopped), and updates arenow done to the second bitmap file.

The bitmap files may be evaluated to identify stale files. For example,a stale data threshold may specify that a file is stale if the file hasnot been accessed within 20 days. The first bitmap file, the secondbitmap file, the third bitmap file, etc. may be evaluated to determinewhether any files were not accessed within 20 days during weeks 1-3(e.g., bitmap records, for file (A), within the first bitmap file, thesecond bitmap file, the third bitmap file, and the fourth bitmap filemay indicate that file (A) was not accessed during weeks 1-3, and thusfile (A) may be determined as stale). In this way, changed files and/orstale files may be efficiently identified by evaluating one or morerelatively small bitmap files.

In an example of maintaining a bitmap file, if a file is deleted, thenbits of a corresponding bitmap record are cleared (e.g., set to 0 toindicate that the file is not in use and all states are 0). In anotherexample, if a new file is created, certain bits within a correspondingbitmap record may be set (e.g., a flag bit may be set to 1 to indicatethat the file is in use, while another bit, such as a modification bit,may be set to indicate that the file was created/modified so that thefile is not detected as being stale shortly after creation).

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system 400, comprising a dataevaluation component 406, for maintaining a bitmap file 402 of a filesystem. The data evaluation component 406 may prepopulate the bitmapfile 402 with a set of bitmap records, such as a file (A) bitmap record408, a file (B) bitmap record 410, a file (C) bitmap record 412, and/orother bitmap records, based upon information within inofile records ofan inofile 404 for the file system, such as a file (A) inofile record414, a file (B) inofile record 416, a file (C) inofile record, and/orother inofile records. In an example, the bitmap file 402 may have aone-to-one mapping with the inofile 404 (e.g., an entry within thebitmap file 402 corresponds to an mode of a file). It may be appreciatedthat the bitmap file 402 may be populated with information from any typeof metadata or information source that may indicate when files were lastaccessed, last modified, and/or other states of files.

In an example, various information of a file (A) may be representedthrough one or more bits of the file (A) bitmap record 408, such aswhere a first bit represents whether an mode (A) of file (A) is in useor not, a second bit represents a first state of the file (A) (e.g.,whether the file (A) has been accessed), a third bit represents a secondstate of the file (A) (e.g., whether the file (A) has been modified), aforth bit represents a third state of the file (A), etc. In this way,states of two files may be maintained using merely a byte of informationor any other amount of information. It may be appreciated that anynumber of bits may be used to represent any number of states of a file.The states may be set based upon corresponding information within theinofile records (e.g., the second bit of the file (A) bitmap record 408may be set based upon a last modified property within the file (A)inofile record 414, the third bit of the file (A) bitmap record 408 maybe set based upon a last modified property within the file (A) inofilerecord 414, etc.).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a system 500, comprising a dataevaluation component 502, for maintaining a set of bitmap files 522 fora file system corresponding to volumes 508, files 510, LUNs 512, and/orother data stored within one or more storage devices of data storage504. A set of snapshots 506 of the file system may have been created atvarious points in time, such as a first snapshot 514 at a first point intime during week 1, a second snapshot 516 at a second point in timeduring week 2, a third snapshot 518 at a third point in time during week3, a fourth snapshot 520 at a fourth point in time during week 4, etc.

The data evaluation component 502 may maintain and populate the set ofbitmap files 522 based upon states of an inofile, of the file system,captured within the set of snapshots 506. In an example, a first bitmapfile 524 may be populated with information from the inofile at a firststate represented within the first snapshot 514, a second bitmap file526 may be populated with information from the inofile at a second staterepresented within the second snapshot 516, a third bitmap file 528 maybe populated with information from the inofile at a third staterepresented within the third snapshot 518, a fourth bitmap file 530 maybe populated with information from the inofile at a fourth staterepresented within the fourth snapshot 520. In another example, afterthe first bitmap file 524 is populated, updates to bitmap files mayoccur in conjunction with updates to other metadata, such as theinofile. For example, whenever a file is accessed or changed, theinofile is updated to reflect such. Similarly, appropriate bits in acorresponding entry of a bitmap file are updated as well, which maymitigate wasted time and resources otherwise used to deploy a scannerfor moving entries from a source metadata file to the bitmap file. Inthis way, the set of bitmap files 522 may indicate whether files wereaccessed, modified, and/or other states of files during weeks 1-4.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a system 600, comprising a dataevaluation component 602, for identifying stale data 636 and/or changeddata 638. For example, the data evaluation component 602 may maintain astale data threshold 634 indicating that data is stale if the data hasnot been accessed for at least 2.5 weeks. The data evaluation component602 may evaluate 614, using the stale data threshold 634, a set ofbitmap files 604, such as a first bitmap file 606 representing states offiles at a first point in time 5 weeks prior to a current date (e.g., astate between a time the first bitmap file 606 was initialized, such asbeing prepopulated, and a time at which the first bitmap file 606 wasfrozen, such as by the creation of a snapshot, and thus a second bitmapfile 608 is created) and corresponding to a base snapshot of a filesystem, the second bitmap file 608 representing states of files at asecond point in time 4 weeks prior to the current date (e.g., a 1 weekperiod between the initialization of the second bitmap file 608 and thesecond bitmap file 608 being frozen, and thus a third bitmap file 610 iscreated) and corresponding to a first snapshot of the file system, thethird bitmap file 610 representing states of files at a third point intime 3 weeks prior to the current date (e.g., a 1 week period betweenthe initialization of the third bitmap file 610 and the third bitmapfile 610 being frozen, and thus a fourth bitmap file 612 is created) andcorresponding to a second snapshot of the file system, the fourth bitmapfile 612 representing states of files at a fourth point in time 2 weeksprior to the current date (e.g., a 1 week period between theinitialization of the fourth bitmap file 612 and the fourth bitmap file612 being frozen, and thus a fifth bitmap file is created) andcorresponding to a third snapshot of the file system, the fifth bitmapfile representing states of files at a fifth point in time 1 week priorto the current date (e.g., a 1 week period between the initialization ofthe fifth bitmap file and the fifth bitmap file being frozen, and thusan active bitmap file is created) and corresponding to a fourth snapshotof the file system, and the active bitmap file corresponding to acurrent real-time active state of the file system. At any given time,merely one bitmap may be active for the file system (e.g., the activebitmap file), while previous bitmaps may represent states between whensuch bitmap files were initialized and frozen. Thus, a time a file hasnot been accessed may be calculated based upon a time of the activebitmap file (e.g., a latest bitmap) to the next older bitmap file+a timeto the next older bitmap file.

In an example, each bitmap may represent 1 week of tracking states offiles. The bitmaps may be evaluated to identify files that have not beenaccessed for 2.5 weeks or longer (e.g., 18 days or longer). A first timebetween the active bitmap file and the fifth bitmap file (e.g.,representing 1-7 days), a second time between the fifth bitmap file andthe fourth bitmap file 612 (e.g., representing 7 days), a third timebetween the fourth bitmap file 612 and the third bitmap file 610 (e.g.,representing 7 days), a fourth time between the third bitmap file 610and the second bitmap file 608 (e.g., representing 7 days), etc. may beevaluated. If the first time is 1 day, then the first time+the secondtime+the third time is merely 15 days, and thus the fourth time is takeninto account because the evaluation criteria is the identification offiles that have not been accessed for 18 days or longer). If the firsttime is 6 days, then the first time+the second time+the third time(e.g., 20 days) provide sufficient data for evaluation. Thus, thegranularity between bitmap file creation has influence on thegranularity of evaluation (e.g., the more often bitmaps are frozen androtated, the more granularity the evaluation may have, however, creatingmore bitmap files will result in more bitmap files to maintain andscan). Bitmap files may be frozen and rotated based upon a schedule oron demand.

In an example, the first bitmap file 606 may indicate that a file (A)618, a file (B) 620, a file (C) 622, a file (D) 624, a file (E) 626, afile (F), a file (H), a file (I), and a file (J) were accessed 5 weeksprior to the current date. The second bitmap file 608 may indicate thatthe file (A) 618, the file (C) 622, the file (F), and the file (J) whereaccessed 4 weeks prior to the current date. The third bitmap file 610may indicate that the file (B) 620, the file (D) 624, and the file (H)were accessed 3 weeks prior to the current date. The fourth bitmap file612 may indicate that the file (A) 618 and the file (E) 626 wereaccessed 2 weeks prior to the current date. The fifth bitmap file mayindicate that the file (A) 618, the file (F), and the file (H) wereaccessed 1 week prior to the current date. The current real-time activestate of the file system may indicate that the file (B) 620, the file(H), and the file (J) have been currently accessed. In this way, thedata evaluation component 602 may determine that the file (A) 618 hasnot been accessed within a week, the file (B) 620 has been currentlyaccessed, the file (C) 622 has not been accessed within 4 weeks, thefile (D) 624 has not been accessed within 3 weeks, the file (E) 626 hasnot been accessed within 2 weeks, the file (F) has not been accessedwithin 1 week, a file (G) does not exist, the file (H) has beencurrently accessed, the file (I) has not been accessed within 5 weeks,and the file (J) has been currently accessed.

The data evaluation component 602 may determine that the file (C) 622,the file (D) 624, and the file (I) are stale files because they have notbeen accessed within the stale data threshold 634 of not being accessedwithin at least the last 2.5 weeks. In an example, the data evaluationcomponent 602 may delete 630 the file (D) 624 from primary data storage616. In another example, the data evaluation component may destage 632the file (C) 622 from the primary data storage 616 to secondary datastorage 628 that may be slower and/or cheaper than the primary datastorage 616. It may be appreciated that a variety of actions, such asuser defined actions, may be implemented (e.g., destage, delete, ignorefor stale data detection, etc.).

The data evaluation component 602 may be configured to identify changeddata 638 that has changed since a prior backup of the primary datastorage 616, such as a backup performed 2 weeks prior to the currentdate. For example, the data evaluation component 602 may determine thatthe file (A) 618, the file (B) 620, the file (F), the file (H), and thefile (J) have changed within the last 2 weeks, and thus may beidentified as changed data 638. The data evaluation component 602 mayefficiently identify the changed data 638 by evaluating 614 the set ofbitmap files 604 as opposed to an entire inofile. The data evaluationcomponent 602 may invoke a backup operation to back up the changed data638.

Still another embodiment involves a computer-readable medium comprisingprocessor-executable instructions configured to implement one or more ofthe techniques presented herein. An example embodiment of acomputer-readable medium or a computer-readable device that is devisedin these ways is illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein the implementation 700comprises a computer-readable medium 708, such as a CD-R, DVD-R, flashdrive, a platter of a hard disk drive, etc., on which is encodedcomputer-readable data 706. This computer-readable data 706, such asbinary data comprising at least one of a zero or a one, in turncomprises a set of computer instructions 704 configured to operateaccording to one or more of the principles set forth herein. In someembodiments, the processor-executable computer instructions 704 areconfigured to perform a method 702, such as at least some of theexemplary method 300 of FIG. 3, for example. In some embodiments, theprocessor-executable instructions 704 are configured to implement asystem, such as at least some of the exemplary system 400 of FIG. 4, atleast some of the exemplary system 500 of FIG. 5, and/or at least someof the exemplary system 600 of FIG. 6, for example. Many suchcomputer-readable media are contemplated to operate in accordance withthe techniques presented herein.

It will be appreciated that processes, architectures and/or proceduresdescribed herein can be implemented in hardware, firmware and/orsoftware. It will also be appreciated that the provisions set forthherein may apply to any type of special-purpose computer (e.g., filehost, storage server and/or storage serving appliance) and/orgeneral-purpose computer, including a standalone computer or portionthereof, embodied as or including a storage system. Moreover, theteachings herein can be configured to a variety of storage systemarchitectures including, but not limited to, a network-attached storageenvironment and/or a storage area network and disk assembly directlyattached to a client or host computer. Storage system should thereforebe taken broadly to include such arrangements in addition to anysubsystems configured to perform a storage function and associated withother equipment or systems.

In some embodiments, methods described and/or illustrated in thisdisclosure may be realized in whole or in part on computer-readablemedia. Computer readable media can include processor-executableinstructions configured to implement one or more of the methodspresented herein, and may include any mechanism for storing this datathat can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of computerreadable media include (hard) drives (e.g., accessible via networkattached storage (NAS)), Storage Area Networks (SAN), volatile andnon-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-accessmemory (RAM), EEPROM and/or flash memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs,cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, optical or non-opticaldata storage devices and/or any other medium which can be used to storedata.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood thatthe subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, thespecific features and acts described above are disclosed as exampleforms of implementing at least some of the claims.

Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. The order inwhich some or all of the operations are described should not beconstrued to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated given the benefit ofthis description. Further, it will be understood that not all operationsare necessarily present in each embodiment provided herein. Also, itwill be understood that not all operations are necessary in someembodiments.

Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard application orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer application accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. Of course, manymodifications may be made to this configuration without departing fromthe scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter.

As used in this application, the terms “component”, “module,” “system”,“interface”, and the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentincludes a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, anexecutable, a thread of execution, an application, or a computer. By wayof illustration, both an application running on a controller and thecontroller can be a component. One or more components residing within aprocess or thread of execution and a component may be localized on onecomputer or distributed between two or more computers.

Moreover, “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, illustration, etc., and not necessarily as advantageous. Asused in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. In addition, “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication are generally be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform. Also, at least one of A and B and/or the like generally means A orB and/or both A and B. Furthermore, to the extent that “includes”,“having”, “has”, with, or variants thereof are used, such terms areintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising”.

Many modifications may be made to the instant disclosure withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter. Unlessspecified otherwise, “first,” “second,” or the like are not intended toimply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering, etc. Rather,such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. for features,elements, items, etc. For example, a first set of information and asecond set of information generally correspond to set of information Aand set of information B or two different or two identical sets ofinformation or the same set of information.

Also, although the disclosure has been shown and described with respectto one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modificationswill occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading andunderstanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. Thedisclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and islimited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regardto the various functions performed by the above described components(e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though notstructurally equivalent to the disclosed structure. In addition, while aparticular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed withrespect to only one of several implementations, such feature may becombined with one or more other features of the other implementations asmay be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: maintaining, by a storage server, a first bitmap file mapped to an inofile of a file system; prepopulating the first bitmap file with a first set of bitmap records corresponding to files of the file system, a bitmap record of the first set of bitmap records specifying whether a file has been accessed, modified, or experienced a state change, the bitmap record mapped to an inofile record, of the inofile, for the file; responsive to the inofile record indicating that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the state change, updating the bitmap record to indicate that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the state change; evaluating the first bitmap file to determine whether the file is a stale file based upon the bitmap record; and responsive to determining that the file is the stale file, at least one of deleting the stale file, destaging the stale file from a current storage device to a secondary storage device, providing an alert, or implementing a storage management operation upon the stale file.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first bitmap file corresponding to the inofile during a first timespan, and the method comprising: maintaining a second bitmap file mapped to the inofile during a second timespan; prepopulating the second bitmap file with a second set of bitmap records corresponding to the files of the file system, a second bitmap record of the second set of bitmap records specifying whether the file has been accessed modified, or experienced a second state change during the second timespan, the second bitmap record mapped to the inofile record of the inofile during the second timespan; responsive to the inofile record indicating that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the second state change during the second timespan, updating the second bitmap record to indicate that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the second state change; and evaluating the first bitmap file and the second bitmap file to determine whether the file is the stale file based upon the bitmap record and the second bitmap record.
 3. The method of claim 1, comprising: responsive to determining that the file is not a stale file, performing a backup operation upon the file.
 4. A non-transitory machine readable medium having stored thereon instructions for performing a method comprising machine executable code which when executed by at least one machine, causes the machine to: create a set of bitmap files mapped to a set of snapshots of a file system; populate sets of bitmap records within the set of bitmap files based upon metadata records of metadata, of the file system, within the set of snapshots, a bitmap record indicative of whether a file was accessed, modified, or experienced a state change; evaluate the set of bitmap files to identify a set of stale files not accessed, modified, or experienced the state change within a threshold timeframe; and at least one of delete the set of stale files, destage the set of stale files from a current storage device to a secondary storage device, provide an alert, or implement a storage management operation upon the set of stale file.
 5. A computing device, comprising: a memory containing machine readable medium comprising machine executable code having stored thereon instructions for performing a method of detecting stale data; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the machine executable code to cause the processor to: maintain a first bitmap file mapped to an inofile of a file system; prepopulate the first bitmap file with a first set of bitmap records corresponding to files of the file system, a bitmap record of the first set of bitmap records specifying whether a file has been accessed, modified, or experienced a state change, the bitmap record mapped to an inofile record, of the inofile, for the file; responsive to the inofile record indicating that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced a state change, update the bitmap record to indicate that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the state change; evaluate the first bitmap file to determine whether the file is a stale file based upon the bitmap record; and responsive to determining that the file is the stale file, either delete the stale file, destage the stale file from a current storage device to a secondary storage device, provide an alert, or implement a storage management operation upon the stale file.
 6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the first bitmap file corresponds to the inofile during a first timespan, and the machine executable code causes the processor to: maintain a second bitmap file mapped to the inofile during a second timespan; prepopulate the second bitmap file with a second set of bitmap records corresponding to the files of the file system, a second bitmap record of the second set of bitmap records specifying whether the file has been accessed, modified, or experienced a second state change during the second timespan, the second bitmap record mapped to the inofile record of the inofile during the second timespan; responsive to the inofile record indicating that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the second state change during the second timespan, update the second bitmap record to indicate that the file was accessed, modified, or experienced the second state change; and evaluate the first bitmap file and the second bitmap file to determine whether the file is the stale file based upon the bitmap record and the second bitmap record.
 7. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: populate the first set of bitmap records of the first bitmap file based upon a first snapshot of the file system corresponding to a first point in time of the first timespan; and populate the second set of bitmap records of the second bitmap file based upon a second snapshot of the file system corresponding to a second point in time of the second timespan.
 8. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the bitmap record comprises a bit representing a flag indicative of whether the file has been at least one of accessed, modified, is excluded for stale data detection, or has had a state change.
 9. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the bitmap record comprises a bit representing a flag indicative of whether the file is present within the file system and is mapped with an mode entry.
 10. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the first bitmap file comprises a byte representing a first state of a first file using a first bit, a second state of the first file using a second bit, a third state of the first file using a third bit, and an mode in use state for the first file using a fourth bit.
 11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the byte represents a fourth state of a second file using a fifth bit, a fifth state of the second file using a sixth bit, a sixth state of the second file using a seventh bit, and a second mode in use state for the second file using an eighth bit.
 12. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: evaluate the first bitmap file to identify one or more changed files of the file system; and invoke a backup operation based upon the one or more changed files.
 13. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: evaluate the first bitmap file to determine whether a logical unit number (LUN) is a stale LUN.
 14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: determine that the LUN is the stale LUN based upon at least one of the LUN not being mapped or the LUN not being accessed, modified, or experienced a LUN state change for a threshold amount of time.
 15. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: evaluate the first bitmap file to determine whether a home directory of a user is a stale home directory.
 16. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: determine that the file is the stale file based upon the first bitmap file indicating that the file has not been accessed, modified, or experienced the state change for a threshold amount of time.
 17. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: determine that the file is the stale file based upon the first bitmap file and the second bitmap file indicating that the file has not been accessed, modified, or experienced the state change or the second state change for a threshold amount of time.
 18. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: responsive to determining that the file is not a stale file, performing a backup operation upon the file.
 19. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: perform a bitmap file evaluation operation upon the first bitmap file to identify one or more stale files of the file system, the bitmap file evaluation operation configured to evaluate the first bitmap file but not the inofile.
 20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the machine executable code causes the processor to: responsive to identifying the one or more stale files using the bitmap file evaluation operation, perform an inofile access operation to identify supplemental information, from the inofile, used by a storage management operation; and invoke the storage management operation using the supplemental information. 